The Simplest Way to Gauge Success of Your GTM Efforts: Do Your Reps Use Your Materials?

Measuring Sales Enablement Success Starts with Understanding Sales Reps' Usage Patterns

Sales enablement programs provide invaluable resources to sales teams, but determining whether those resources drive the intended impact can be tricky. The simplest way to measure the effectiveness of your program is by tracking whether or not sales reps are using the materials as intended—or at all.

Designing resources for how reps behave is vital. As product teams obsess over customer needs, GTM teams must view sales reps as internal customers, ensuring that the resources developed align with their real-world needs. This post dives into some fundamental principles you can employ to create sales tools your teams embrace and use to close deals faster and increase success rates.

Treat Sales Reps Like Customers

Product teams succeed when they design with customer's needs and behaviors at the forefront of their efforts. The same principle applies to sales enablement. When you treat sales reps like internal customers, GTM teams can create tools and content that salespeople want to use, fostering engagement and improving effectiveness.

Actionable Tip: Conduct regular "customer research" on your sales team. Much like product teams gather customer insights, GTM teams should frequently interact with sales reps to understand their preferences, challenges, and needs. Studies show that regular feedback collection and adaptation increase average usage by 15-20%.

Design for Anticipated Behavior, Not Desired Behavior 

A common misstep in sales enablement is designing materials based on idealized behaviors. Sales reps don't always use tools as you envision, and long-form guides or overly complex resources often go untouched. Prioritize designing resources to fit into the flow of how the team already works.

Did You Know?: Studies highlight that sales enablement materials designed for real-world use see 25-30% higher adoption compared to idealized, complex guides.

Measuring Usage Consistency as a Key Metric 

Track the consistency of content usage to gauge sales enablement effectiveness. As product teams track customer engagement metrics to assess success, GTM teams should monitor how and when sales reps use the resources provided. Tools that sit unused are a clear sign the program needs adjusting.

Actionable Tip: Use CRM analytics to monitor which content gets the most use and during which stages of the sales process. Data shows tools tailored to specific buyer journey stages increase usage by 20-25%.

Creating Enablement Tools That Sales Reps Love 

Product teams strive to create products that customers love—and GTM teams should aim for the same level of engagement with their enablement tools. When sales reps find value in the resources, they integrate them into their daily routines, resulting in better performance.

Actionable Tip: Simplify enablement resources into bite-sized, actionable, and adaptable content. Research indicates such resources improve adoption by 30% and reduce sales cycle times significantly.

Building a Feedback Loop: Continuous Improvement 

Product development thrives on feedback. Sales enablement programs are no different. Regularly collecting feedback from sales reps and iterating based on their insights helps refine enablement tools to better meet their evolving needs.

Did You Know? Establishing a continuous feedback loop with sales reps can increase material usage and satisfaction by over 40%.

Conclusion

To measure the success of your sales enablement program, treat your sales reps like internal customers and design tools for their anticipated behaviors. You'll ensure your resources are adopted and embraced by tracking usage consistency and maintaining an open feedback loop. Ready to optimize your sales enablement strategy? Connect with us to start a conversation.